Tim Skubick: This kid was no Ernie Harwell, so see who ended up in the governor's office instead

Courtesy photoFormer Gov. James Blanchard, seen here as a child and today, talks in this video clip about his first dream job - in baseball - and why that didn't work out.

"Good afternoon, Tiger fans! This is your announcer, Jamie Blanchard, bringing you the play-by-play of the Tigs versus the Yankees in what could be a slam-bam kinda game."

Ah, what might have been, but never was.

Growing up in Pleasant Ridge, little Jamie Blanchard first wanted to hit the baseball, not describe it being hit by somebody else. But reality reared its ugly head, so he figured he’d settle for a cushy job in the broadcast booth. In fact, "I'd still love to do that," the man who grew up to be governor of Michigan reflects on a new Internet site devoted to chronicling the legacies of Michigan political figures.

For the true political junkies among you, Mr. Blanchard appears on camera and in more than two dozen four- to five-minute segments he tackles everything from being student council president, to Michigan's chief executive, to ambassador to Canada and more.

We learn in one video , “Running,” that it was his high school basketball coach who gets the credit - or blame, depending on your political leanings - for nudging him to run for student council.

Jamie Blanchard did, but did not stop there as he ascended to president of his class at MSU – “It was because I think I remembered everybody’s name" - and then onto the governor's chair, despite not thinking about that growing up.

He always wanted to be in Congress, and at the tender age of 32 found himself rubbing elbows with heroes he had read about in government and history books. "People got along. I had an armchair to history," he reflects.

It was former Democratic Party Chair Morely Winograd who first approached the congressman about forming a Draft Blanchard for Governor committee. "That's fine. Just don't connect me to it," advised Mr. Blanchard.

It worked, he recalls. "The UAW, Jewish groups and grassroots were there even before I said I would explore it."

Though Congress was his first love, the winds of change blew into the nation's capital as Republicans and President Ronald Reagan swept into office.

Mr. Blanchard did the math. Being in the minority meant he could have more influence in Lansing than D.C. Plus, Michigan had gone 20 years without electing a Democratic governor. He took the plunge and won.

"Anybody could be governor of Minnesota," he says in the video, "because everything runs so well."

Michigan was another story, with Depression-like jobless rates and an economy on its knees to the Japanese. That’s how former Gov. William Milliken described it as he handed the reins of power to the new governor. Mr. Blanchard says it is better to govern in a crisis, which he immediately got a chance to experience.

If there is a downside to the web site, there is no back and forth with the interviewer, leaving the governor to tell his story without any probing follow-up questions. But what politician wouldn't want to avoid that?

Take a peek at governorblanchard.com – a product of the Gov. James J. Blanchard Living Library of Michigan Political History. The effort builds on a program started by the Michigan Political History Society.

And watch for interviews to come with about two dozen more Michigan figures on their political legacies.

Tim Skubick is host of "Off the Record" on WKAR-TV in East Lansing. Watch the show anytime at video.wkar.org.